Angelmaker

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Chris couldn’t quite shake the sensation that there were cogs turning below the surface of the world.

The great thing about a thriller that moves backwards and forwards in time is all of the nuance and backstory that can make the present day action that much more intense. It has been a challenge to figure out why, but I think at heart, the beginning reads a little like a collection of short stories or vignettes, which makes the thriller plotting drag. Ergo, I think it's no coincidence that Harkaway (still not his real name) felt he had some solid ground upon which to stand while surveying the fatness of Reamd.I had no idea what was going to happen from one chapter to the next, and believe me I concentrated really hard on this book so it wasn't for lack of trying. Once or twice the wider sweep of the narrative snags on local oddities: among Harkaway's many enthusiasms is an attachment to the recherché, or just the slightly odd. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Overall, some explanations are a little far-fetched, and there are still a few unanswered questions and plot holes, but it's still a mind-bending, thought-provoking, exciting, smart, and captivating read with great character development and a balanced pace.

Joe has a past that makes this more difficult than it seems, for he is the son of Mathew “Tommy Gun” Spork, at one time London’s most notorious gangster, and the leader of the legendary Night Market. Although I found most of the book to be on the slower side initially, I was intrigued and had to know what was happening and how everything would play out.Special thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts. With an INTRICATE plot, and a large cast of (evil) characters, it took awhile for me to figure out who was who, and how they fit together in the larger scheme of things, which slowed the pace down a bit. The novel's rather dishevelled hero is Joshua Joseph Spork, son and reluctant heir of the late Mathew Spork, formerly the dandified king of the London underworld. Alex North pens a most mysterious mystery that had me riveted from the start but, as I mentioned, it took some time for me to wrap my brain around everything. The word "actinic" – which seems to have something important to do with electromagnetic radiation – appears about twice too often, even for a novel as long as this one.